NW Kid Chaser

My husband is a bike guy and Copenhagen is a bike city. It didn’t take long to do the math, but an international bicycle conference tipped the scales.We called this trip -- work for him, travel for me, play for the boys. It had something for everyone.

When at home, my hubby rides his bike all over town, but I tend to be more reserved. I don’t like to travel busy roads. I dread big intersections. I worry about the gigantic hunks of steal surging by my sweet innocent children.

Copenhagen was a whole different ball game.

Copenhagen is a city built for bikes, in a country built for bikes. They call it urban planning on a human scale.

Imagine a city built for people – not for cars. Here it sounds revolutionary. There it just makes sense.

Less pollution. Less noise. More active lifestyle. Greater equity. Wait… soon I’ll be standing on the street and waving my arms -- crying out to subvert the dominant paradigm! What can I say? Years married to a bike guy and I’m a true convert.

While in Copenhagen, we rented bikes from Baisikeli Bike Rental. Besides having a groovy cool business plan that supports bikes in Tanzania, these guys couldn't have been nicer and hooked us up with the perfect bikes for our visit.

I rode this lovely three speed -- with a basket and a comfortable seat. My boys and hubby were in a Nihola.

These ‘family bikes’ are wonderful. We have a bike trailer here in the states, but I much prefer having the boys up front where they can see and talk with us. The bench inside had space underneath for storing bags, and comes out completely if you are hauling grocery bags (instead of boys).

On one day of our adventure, we rode our bikes all the way out to the beach. We packed water, and blankets, and sweatshirts, and sunscreen, and snacks and STILL had plenty of room for the wiggly legs of two growing boys. The cover slips on and off to cover the 'bucket' easily – keeping the boys dry during an afternoon rain shower on another day.

As groovy as the bikes are- it’s the country’s infrastructure that makes the magic all possible.Copenhagen has very few bike lanes. No…bike lanes don’t cut it. They have cycle tracks – which are like mini-roads designed just for bikes. Separated from traffic, Mommas like me can ride without the worry of those pesky cars coming too close. Also, there are bike traffic signals.

That’s right. The cars have stop lights. The bikes have stoplights. The pedestrians have walk signals. Everyone knows when it’s their turn and everyone knows when it’s not. I had a delivery truck actually stop and give me the right of way as I turned left in front of him. Wow! It was surreal and wonderfully memorable (perhaps doubly so because of the 70 year old woman who passed me on her bike just afterwards. I was going too slow… such a tourist).

And so with that, let me close by saying this….. All this bike riding and I saw very little spandex. The Danes ride as transportation to work, the store, school, to meet friends. It’s part of life, not an activity added to life. Women ride in their high heels and colorful scarves. Men ride in suit and tie. It’s all very fashionable and I loved it. I tried not to stare, but honestly was in awe of these beautiful people. Here’s a video that sums it up perfectly. Thank you Copenhagenize.com: